Crimson
'Tyrants, Issue 34. "Crimson." ' Front cover- on the cover stands a CABER robot, minus the distinctive blue celtic cross across its chest, but otherwise, with the iconic black metal form and red visor face plate, where the vague energy forms within the faceplate that form a 'face' are white. The CABER has his fist pointed towards the right of the cover, and is surrounded in red energy and pointing a fist made of red energy at Kaan'Qsst who is being flung back by it, at the reader. Along the bottom of the cover are the words DUNGEON MASTER NO MORE. The first page of the issue shows the Tyrants from above. Dungeon Man stands in the middle of the page, as his eyes blaze white, his body is covered in a corona of red energy. He looks down at his hands; his partially molten face of fake synthetic skin is now fully melting, and the 'flesh' from his fingers is also dripping off. Null stands behind him, the positronic brain removed from Dungeon Master's head not far behind him either, on the ground. Null's mask is still on the floor, revealing his true face as Graham Stevens. Dungeon Master has no 'hair' as the top of his head has been opened up. Kaan'Qsst stands in the foreground with his back to the reader, and Icarus stands off to the right. "How is he functioning? According to my senses, he is active yet..." Kaan'Qsst snarls. "There lies his mind! How!" The comic shows how Dungeon Master seems to Kaan'Qsst, as his body is shown with black energy, whilst his cybernetic brain, deactivated, looks ordinary. Null looks at Dungeon Master, his body now ablaze with white energy, the purple energy he saw criss-crossing his body before is now just a layer across his skin. "The energies of this dimension are now being absorbed normally with the malfunctioning brain centre removed. The other energy, the white energy... it must be some form of sentience." He looks over at Icarus, whose own body is possessed by a blazing white form, though it is actually projecting out of the body visually. This energy is shot through with a complex weave of thin lines of orange energy which no-one else can see. "Yes, whatever it is, its a sentient force of energy, possessing Dungeon Master's body like a puppet. Not dissimilar to Icarus, in fact. When Dungeon Master appeared, he acted as if he had multiple personalites... whatever mind this force carries it was trying to assert dominance." "Not dominance..." Dungeon Master turns to look at Null, as the energy blazes, and his synethetic skin melts off, to show the distinctive face-plae of a CABER. "Co-habitation. But Duncan Masters more resistant than his brother. Unwilling. Malfunctioning. A broken mind, which you have removed." The rest of the fake skin pool off onto the floor into a disgusting mess. "Its a CABER... Dungeon Master was a CABER robot, using a disguise mode. Removal of the brain must render it... inoperable", Null says, stepping back. "Duncan and James Masters so wished to be human." The CABER scoops up, part of the rapidly dissolving fake flesh. "Now neither shall have that wish." Null says "Not so. I can re-insert the brain, restore it. Of course, Dungeon Master would still not be human, but he could live again. Appear human, again." "I cannot leave this body now until it is destroyed" the CABER says. "Then Dungeon Master is gone. With who do we speak to?" Kaan'Qsst steps forward, holding up placating hands. "I have known many names over the centuries. But I remember it all now. Red Buddha was a being of peace... but the name Red is corrupted. The Red Warlord was not a good man. He was the first to bear the name Red. I wish such a title no longer." Icarus grows in size, his skin turning red. "Red Buddha! He is a Society dog! He must be destroyed!" The CABER looks up at Icarus. "I do not recognise that body. But I know that voice." "Yes! Do not forget the one that your damned Society ABANDONED! See the prison you codemned me too!" Icarus grasps his hands together and raises them above his head, ready to bring the fists crashing down. CABER simply says "Icarus." "Icarus wait-" says Kaan'Qsst as the fists come down. The comic cuts to further out, to show the form of Tommy Gunn flying above, the red form of Icarus' giant form rather clear. This is not Tommy Gunn's current suit, it is his older, more classic model. "So much more peace and solitude and somewhere to hide in the mountains. However, those are not heroes down there, I am sure." He looks down and sees the other large obvious form, the spinosaurus carrying Little Mike, retreating as hastily from the scene as he can. "Time for some reconaissance, methinks." Out of Tommy Gunn's back folds a pair of red leathering wings, and the rocket flares from his boots cease from his feet. His black armour turns red and scaled in the next panel, and in the next, he appears identical to Cuthroat Cain. He flies down to the razorback, landing in front of him. "Boss! There you are! Kaan'Qsst thought you might be dead!" says the razorback. "Well clearly I am not. Here is there over yonder?" "Uh... yeah." The razorback looks up at the giant Icarus. "You, uh... want some back up, sir?" "No, no. I can handle myself. The rest of the army is back that way in the city. They seem to be moving in this direction. Be a good fellow and go and find them, would you?" The spinosaurus salutes. "Sir, yes sir! Good to have you back, sir!" "Good to be back." 'Cain' flies towards the conflict. The spinosaurus looks down at the unconscious Little Mike. "Didn't even remember my name..." with a saddened face, he saunters on. Icarus's fists engulf the CABER as they pound him into the ground. The following panel shows a purple glow leaking out from between the gaps between Icarus's fists. In the next panel, Icarus is launched backwards, as the purple energy turns red, and strikes him as a massive fist of energy. CABER stands up."The legacy of the Red is stained. Stained with crimson. Perhaps that is something I should not forget. But from this day, I will use this body... the body of a CABER, the body of a hero. Stand down, villains. Stand down before Crimson Caber." "We are doing nothing to stand down ''from. We were simply fighting against Blitzkrieg. Now that battle is done. I apologise for Icarus's temper... I, we, mean you know harm." "Kaan'Qsst. You are responsible for decades of crimes perpetrated on this planet whilst fighting the Mega Heroes. Your crimes include repeated acts of theft and murder." "Acts committed to get the neccessary resources to ''defend your planet." Kaan'Qsst looking reserved before, now looks angry. "A bizarre logic you can explain in a court of law when I turn you in." "I am not ''human. ''I am not subject to your courts." Crimson Caber's red energies recede back into his body. "Then you are an alien invader and will be treated accordingly." He looks to Null, still with his mask on the floor. "Graham Stevens. You have accounted for your crimes. I suggest you either help me or stand back, before I have cause to fight you as well." He then looks to Icarus. "Icarus, though your actions have killed many in the past, they were due to the former lack of control and understanding of your power, and regardless, you paid in death. I extend you the same offer as I extended to Stevens." He looks at Dark Magician, still unmoving on the ground, with spines in his face. "The Dark Magician is an agent of mass murder and if still alive, will also be captured until he can brought to a court of law." "This is madness! You would punish them for crimes! What of your ''own, ''Society dog! Enough of this, bring him down!" Icarus roars, picking himself up from the rubble he has landed in. "I quite concur", says Kaan'Qsst. He strides forward. "I am a Vor, and, my first course of action was, as is the way of my action. Peace. But my primary directive is to destroy the Kraan... imprisonment stands in the way of that. For what its worth, it did not have to come to this." "You are right. It did not." Crimson Caber manages to evade Kaan'Qsst's hand. "You wish to absorb this body into your own. First, you must touch it." Null blasts both Caber, and Kaan'Qsst, with white energy. The blast seems to affect neither of them. It passes harmlessly through Kaan'Qsst, whilst Caber's metal shell now glows a soft white. "He's absorbing my energies harmlessly, along with the energy of Icarus's strikes." "No matter. I need someone to just hold him still, and then this will be quickly over", says Kaan'qsst. "Then allow me." The false Cain flies down from above, and wraps his arms around Crimson Caber's chest and arms. "Cain. Your timing is impeccable." Cain says "Sorry to disappoint you but-" And then he is flung away by the far stronger Caber. Icarus booms. "So I can't hit or blast him with energy... FINE!" He holds out a hand. "Then I'll just hold him with that bitch Chiyo's powers until Kaan'Qsst turns him into a useless pile of slag then!" "You mock the Society's memory, and then use the powers of one of them against me... as always, Icarus, I pity the madness within you", says Caber, even as he is lifted off of the ground. There is a flash of red light. Caber is gone. Icarus randomly hurls some rubble into the air with telekinesis. "Rrrrr... where did he GO?" "Likely to get the heroes, one surmises", Null says. Kaan'Qsst looks to Cain. "Where are they?" "Currently dealing with the broken Blitzkrieg Island and..." he looks up as the two halves of it sail into the sky from the city centre "lets hope that when it explodes, they can deal with the fall-out. But as I was saying, I might not have as much information as you surmise..." the velociraptor turns into human form, into the tall, thin, long white, wispy bearded Yu, Master of Disguise. "For I am not Cain. This form was simply neccesary to inform me of what was occuring here. I recognise that Titan, though he sounded different." He holds out his hand to Kaan'Qsst. "Yu, Master of Disguise. A fellow foe of these heroes." Kaan'Qsst shakes his hand firmly. "Greetings, Yu. My fellows and I are currently in an alliance. The current plan is to find somewhere to lay low until the heroes return the city to Earth, then we are undertaking a plan to deal with a coming alien invasion." Yu raises an eyebrow. "Is that not work for the hero? Admittedly, I am not pro- alien invasion, at the same time, it sounds like something they are better equipped to deal with." "On the contrary, their morals and ethics make them entirely ''unequipped ''to deal with a threat that requires absolute destruction." "Well, I am a talented fighter, however, what can we do against an army?" Kaan'Qsst looks down. "We acquire our own." He gazes down at Dungeon Master's discarded positronic brain. He lifts it up and shows it to Null, who is putting his mask on. "Could you fix this, still?" "Well yes, but we wouldn't have a body for it." Kaan'Qsst grins. "That will not be a problem. Could you also reprogram it? And mass produce it." "I could, put if you wanted bodies for them, that would take considerably longer. Either way, I need facilities. We could go to Incredi-Labs, my labs, but eventually, the heroes will come looking there soon enough." "Why not let them find you? Weren't you cleared of your crimes, Stevens?" says Yu twiddling his beard. "You have no need to hide, I have some talents in hiding", he shifts into Stevens to make his point "And its just a matter of hiding our friends here." "So, you will join us, Yu?" "For the time being, at least. There is a man out there who very much wants to kill me, you see. Strength in numbers, a valuable thing." "Valuable indeed" says Kaan'Qsst. "Welcome to my little group." End of issue.